A Ranger's secret
by Amy Choiseul
Summary: An elf, a Dúnadan, and a forgotten Prince now a Ranger, who are great friends decide to join the Fellowship. But what happens when the Fellowship learn of the secret of the Ranger?
1. Chapter 1

"Alaera!" a strong voice called, it grew closer to the Council, "Elvirith!" A young man turned the corner and all of the members of the Council looked at him.

He had short messy blonde hair and brown eyes. He stood at six foot six and was tanned, he looked to be about twenty. He wore a blue linen shirt and black trousers and black boots. He looked at the two young women sitting to the left of Lord Elrond.

"What have you done with my weapons and my clothes?" the young man asked. The two young women smiled innocently at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about dearest William," the young elvish woman said impishly. She had long curly brown hair and brown eyes, she was tanned and was slightly above the average height. She wore a beautiful silver dress, with long sleeves that covered her feet even when she was sitting down. Around her neck was a chain with a wolf on it.

"Honestly Elvirith, you'd think he was blaming us for taking away his travelling clothes and weapons," the young human woman said teasingly. She had long black hair and green and blue eyes. She was slightly paler than her elven friend and slightly shorter as well. They were both about twenty, she wore a dark blue dress, the same design as Elvirith's and had the same necklace.

Lord Elrond, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir and Aragorn all smiled in amusement. "Sit down please William," Lord Elrond said smiling.

"You two promised that I'd never have to wear fancy clothes," William said to Lord Elrond and Gandalf, "after the last ball in Rivendell you promised!" This sent Gandalf into fits of laughter at the memory, Lord Elrond's smile broadened and he gestured for William to sit down.

William sat down between Alaera and Aragorn, smiling at both of his friends. Frodo noticed that William wasn't listening to Lord Elrond as he welcomed everyone, and he still wasn't listening when they began to talk about the ring.


	2. The Fellowship

_Italics are elvish, **Bold is thoughts.**_

As soon as Gimli hit the Ring with his axe, William fell out of his chair, letting out a cry of pain. Elvirith rushed out of her chair and put both hands over the Ring, while Alaera helped William to his feet. _"Thank you, Elvirith and Alaera," _William said, _"Forgive me for interrupting the Council, Master Elrond." "There is no need to apologize William, you did nothing wrong," _Lord Elrond said to William. "The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin," Lord Elrond said, " by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fire's of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade," he paused looking at them, "one of you, must do this."

"One does not simply walk into Mordor," Boromir said. "That's right you must crawl until you're at the Black Gate, then walk by every orc in Mordor asking them how are they, at least that's what I do," William said. Frodo saw Gandalf and Elrond hide their smiles, Boromir smiled slightly as well, but the other Gondorians glared at William.

"The dark gates are guarded by more than just orcs, there is evil in there that does not sleep," Boromir said, "and the great eye is ever watching, it's a barren wasteland riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men can you do this. It is a folly!"

"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said!" Legolas said angrily, as he stood up, "The ring must be destroyed." Alaera and Elvirith looked at each other before sharing a knowing look with each other and then looked at Gandalf.

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it!" Gimli exclaimed standing up. Frodo saw William rest his head in his hands, Alaera and Elvirith smiled at him.

"And if we fail, what then?" Boromir cried standing up,"What happens when Sauron takes back what is his!" Frodo thought he saw William's eyes flicker blue, and Alaera reached across and touched William's shoulder, making sure he was okay. "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!" Gimli shouted. Immediately the elves jumped, up as did the dwarves and soon everyone was arguing. Frodo, Lord Elrond, William and Aragorn were the only ones that stayed in their chairs. Alaera and Elvirith had gone to annoy the elves and the dwarves.

"I will take it," Frodo said quietly. Nobody heard him except for William who looked up at him, and caught his eye. William then nodded for some reason and watched Frodo. "I will take the Ring to Mordor!" Frodo shouted above all the voices, everyone stopped and looked at him in shock, "though, I do not know the way."

Gandalf's face softened and he walked over to Frodo. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, so longs as it is yours to bear," Gandalf said and stood behind Frodo. Aragorn stood up swiftly and walked over to Frodo. "By my life or death, I can protect you. I will," Aragorn said taking out his sword and going down to one knee before Frodo, "you have my sword." "And you have my bow," Legolas said and joined Aragorn and Gandalf behind Frodo. "And my axe," Gimli added, Legolas and Gimli looked awkwardly at each other.

"You carry the fate of us all, little one," Boromir said walking towards them slowly, "if this is indeed the will of the Council, Gondor will see it done." Right after that Sam crashed through the bushes and stood beside Frodo. "HERE!" Sam cried as he crashed through, "Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me."

"No, indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he's invited to a secret council meeting and you are not," Lord Elrond said amused. "OI!" Merry and Pippin shouted appearing from the other side of the council meeting area, Lord Elrond whipped around to see them, "We're coming too!" Lord Elrond raised and eyebrow as the two ran by him to stand beside Frodo. "You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!" Merry announced. "Anyway you need people of intelligent on this sort of mission...quest...thing," Pippin said. The other smiled at Pippin and Merry looked at him. "Well that leaves you out Pip," Merry said.

"I might as well go, after all someone has to keep Gimli and Legolas from killing each other," Alaera said and walked over to behind Merry and Pippin. "Someone will have to keep Alaera from causing complete and utter chaos," Elvirith said and walked over to beside Alaera, who was playfully glaring at her. Everyone then looked at William who was still sitting in his seat.

_"I swear to protect you Frodo Baggins, from anything that may do you harm, even if it myself or yourself," _William swore in Elvish. Lord Elrond, Legolas, Aragorn and Gandalf looked at William smiling slightly, but were slightly shocked that he would swear to protect Frodo. He made his way over to Gandalf. "Anyway, someone has to make sure you actually make it out of Rivendell, with Gandalf guiding you, I wouldn't count on it," William added and ducked as Gandalf's staff came towards the back of his head.

"Twelve companions, so you shall be...the Fellowship of the Ring," Lord Elrond announced. "Right," Pippin said happily, "where are we going?" William smiled at the young hobbit.

A lot of noise began coming towards the Council, and everyone looked at each other confused. A large white wolf came running towards the Fellowship, followed by ten elves who were all shouting at the wolf. "Ghost!" William shouted, the wolf instantly stopped running and looked at William. "Oh no," William muttered before the large white wolf jumped over the hobbits and tackled William to the ground. _"Where are the rest of the pack?"_ William asked him, the wolf looked in the direction he had come from. William sighed, and stood up, the wolf jumped off his chest. "Excuse me, I have to go sort something out," he said before walking away. The Fellowship looked after him with different expressions, some confusion, some amusement and one was pity.


	3. Chapter 3

_Italics are elven._ _**Bold italics are Black Speech.**_** Bold is wolves communicating to one another. **

William walked out of Rivendell and to the stream, that surrounded Rivendell. There stood six wolves, they were all either grey and white or just pure white. The white wolf that William had called Ghost, rushed over to the other wolves. William looked around making sure no-one was around. He then shifted into a large jet black wolf.

It was a smooth process and William never felt any pain. **What are you doing here? **William asked the Alpha of the pack. **We heard, from other wolves that the one who shifts was going to the Black Gates, it is dangerous there friend, **the Alpha barked. **Please don't go Shadow, **Ghost whined, and a few of the other wolves whined as well. **I'm afraid I must my friends, you see an elf has formed a pack, and I'm in it, I must protect my pack and we have to go to the Black Gates to protect other packs, **William barked back. The Alpha looked at William and walked closer to him before bowing his head down in respect. The other wolves of the pack followed his example.

**We will be near you, as will some other wolf packs, it seems you have managed to bring our packs together, we will protect you and your pack and help, at all costs, **the Alpha barked before running across the stream, his pack followed. William watched them run across the stream and run up to the top of the hill. Then, the Alpha let out a howl, the pack joined in, and soon there were other howls coming from far away and close by. The pack then ran from William's sight.

William shifted back into his normal form, his human form, and walked back towards Rivendell.

As William walked towards the stables, the Fellowship were making their way towards the stables as well. _"Go put some proper travelling clothes on Will," _Elvirith said smiling at him. William nodded and ran towards Lord Elrond's home.

Frodo looked at Gandalf. "Do you trust William?" Frodo asked quietly so no-one else could hear. "Yes, I trust him with my life," Gandalf answered staring after him.

"See, Strider there is a such thing as second breakfast," Pippin said to Aragorn, just after he had asked Alaera if she had ever had second breakfast. Aragorn shook his head and looked at Alaera, who was smiling at Pippin in amusement. "Could you teach me how to fight, my lady?" Merry asked Alaera. "I'll teach you when I can, with help from Elvirith and William, and please, call me Alaera," Alaera said to him.

Elvirith stood close to Alaera, she was talking with Legolas and Gimli. "So, are you two going to be fighting the whole way to Mordor?" she asked them. "Aye lass, I'm afraid we will," Gimli said, thinking that she was complaining. "Brilliant! I haven't seen a dwarf and an elf argue with each other in years!" Elvirith said smiling.

"But you're an elf, surely you also argue with the dwarves," Legolas said, while Gimli smiled at her. "Yes, but she gets in more arguments with other elves, myself, Alaera and Gandalf much more," William said from behind Elvirith, he was in his travelling clothes. He wore a white shirt and the same black trousers he had worn to the Council. He had a black cloak wrapped in front of the saddle pack on a black stallion. He had a bow on his back with his quiver, and two daggers were under his bow.

"And most of the arguments with dwarves are about which mead is better," Alaera added, joining in. Alaera ducked, as Elvirith's hand came to hit the back of her head.

"We should leave first light tomorrow, that way we can all be rested and we'll have more time to cover more ground," Aragorn said. Everyone nodded, agreeing with this logic. But a few knew that that wasn't the real reason for Aragorn wanting to stay a little longer, the real reason had something to do with a beautiful black haired elf, who just happened to be Lord Elrond's only daughter.


	4. Shadow

As the Fellowship left Rivendell elves came to see them off. They turned a corner, and forty wolves blocked the path, thirty more were up on their left side, thirty more on their right side. Elves came forward with bows, ready to kill the wolves if necessary.

But ten wolves began walking towards the Fellowship. Frodo stared at them as they kept coming forward. _**What do I do!**_Frodo kept asking himself over and over again, as the wolves got closer and closer. The largest wolf of the group, a grey and white wolf stepped forward and looked at Frodo. He was only an inch away from the young hobbit, and was the same height as him.

William watched the wolf in amusement while everyone else watched tensed, ready to go for their weapons if needs be. The wolf blew at Frodo slightly, making him laugh. The wolf then looked at the Fellowship, when he saw William he jumped at him, just as Ghost had done the day before.

The wolf licked William's cheek and William let out the laugh he had been holding in, Frodo joined him, then Boromir, Alaera, Elvirith, Elrond, Aragorn, Gandalf and everyone else. The wolf seemed to smile. SMILE! Wolves can't smile, but this one did, sort of. As it jumped off William it took some time to sniff the rest of the Fellowship.

When William was standing up, and the wolf had sniffed all of the Fellowship, licking the two girls, receiving rubs from them and Boromir, the wolf turned back to William.

The wolf looked at William, before bowing his head to William. The elves all gasped in amazement, this was supposedly the Alpha of all Alphas, the king of the wolves. The other wolves bowed their heads as well. Everyone looked at William in shock, while William was looking at Frodo smiling deviously.

When the large wolf looked back up, he saw the devious smile on William's face, and he understood immediately. The wolf pounced on Frodo. Frodo laughed and rubbed THE Alpha. The wolf made a sound like a purr. William looked at him in disbelief. "Did you just purr?" William asked. The wolf looked up at William and growled slightly before licking Frodo again and jumping off him.

William nodded to the wolf, and all the wolves moved to make room for the Fellowship so they could leave Rivendell. "Do you want to hear William's amazing wolf howl?" Alaera asked the hobbits, who nodded eagerly, along with Boromir and Legolas. William smiled at Alaera.

Then turning around back to the wolves. His eyes changed blue, but no-one noticed this, as William let out howl. The hobbits looked at him amazed, that was really realistic. Another wolf picked up the howl and soon all of the wolves were howling as William and the Fellowship left.

"Gandalf, which way to Mordor?" Frodo asked as they looked back behind them, the wolves and the elves were still there. "Left," Gandalf chuckled. William began to cough very loudly. "I think it's a right," Alaera and Elvirith said smiling. Frodo nodded and went right.

As soon as they left Rivendell Frodo slowed down so he could speak with William. "How did you do that?" Frodo asked. "Years of practice, Mr. Baggins, years of practice," William answered. "And what about the wolves, why were they there?" Frodo asked. William looked at him strangely. "Why shouldn't they be there? They live in that forest and it is their right as much as the elves right to see off anyone," William answered. "But it seemed as if they knew you, if you can know a wolf," Frodo said. "That would be because they do know me, they kept me alive for two years," William answered smiling at the young hobbit.

"William?" Boromir asked. "Yes, my dear Boromir, what can do for you?" William asked. "What does the inscription on your bow say?" Boromir asked smiling. "Honestly?" William asked, "I have no idea, it was a gift." Frodo smiled.

"Elvirith!" Legolas exclaimed and ran after the elf. William grabbed her as she ran past, she had Legolas' bow in her hand. William smiled grabbed the bow and ran straight past the elf, who whipped around confused, before groaning and running after William. William ran around Gandalf and back towards Boromir and Frodo. "Boromir!" William exclaimed.

The Gondorian nodded and grabbed the bow and ran past Legolas again. Two wolves jumped on Boromir. Five more came out growling at them, Legolas smiled. "Thank you," Legolas said to the wolves before going forwards to take his bow out of Boromir's hand.

Alaera grabbed him. "I don't think they are the wolves we met on the road," Alaera said watching the wolves carefully. Just then three large wolves jumped over Aragorn, Merry and Pippin, and growled at the other wolves. Everyone then noticed the differences, the three wolves were slightly bigger than the other seven. "I'll be right back," William said to Frodo and ran into the forest.

Everyone watched in fear, as the wolves looked ready to fight against each other. A loud growl came from the side, the Fellowship looked to the left to see ten large wolves standing there. Five more came to join the smaller wolves. A larger growl came from the same direction that the ten wolves had com from. The Fellowship looked back and saw an even larger black wolf standing there. It was bigger than the two different wolves, it had blue eyes. The large wolves relaxed slightly, while the smaller ones slumped slightly, almost as if they were already defeated.

Then one of the small ones jumped at Frodo mouth open, ready to sink it's death into Frodo. But the large black wolf ran towards Frodo and jumped in front of him. The black wolf growled slightly as he got bitten on the side instead of Frodo. The wolf then stood up, ignoring it's injury and growled again. The smaller wolves ran back into the forest, the black wolf turned back to the remaining wolves and looked at the forest, they all disappeared and the Fellowship were left standing in shock and amazement.

A few minutes later William walked out from the forest. "Are you okay?" William asked the Fellowship. They were shook out of their dazes and nodded. "A few wolves tried to attack us, some of the wolves that bowed to you saved us, but bigger one that I didn't see before was bitten instead of Frodo," Aragorn said to William.

William nodded. "What did the wolf look like?" he asked. "It was completely black and had blue eyes," Frodo said, overhearing the conversation. William looked at them amazed. "That wolf is legendary," William said. "How so?" Frodo asked. "He protects those he is loyal to, he'll follow us the whole way to Mordor," William answered.

Boromir walked over to William. They stopped and checked William's horses hooves. "Will you be okay?" Boromir asked him. "Yeah, it's just a scratch, I've had worse," William answered. Boromir nodded and they began walking again. "So will your wolves be following us the whole way to Mordor?" Boromir asked. "Yes, want to get rid of the ring as much as we do," William answered.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh look!" Gandalf said to Frodo, "They've found a place to have lunch." Frodo smiled at Gandalf and followed him over to the rocks were the rest of the Fellowship were. There was some plane ground with no grass on it, Boromir, Merry and Pippin were standing on a part of the plane ground, with swords out.

Frodo joined Sam on a rock, and watched as Boromir taught them how to fight. Aragorn, Alaera and Elvirith sat closest to the fight, Aragorn was smoking his pipe, watching and giving advice when he could. William was sitting down at Legolas' feet. Legolas was standing up and constantly watching around.

"Move you're feet," Aragorn said to Pippin. Alaera and Elvirith simultaneously hit Aragorn's head. "Not bad," Boromir said to Pippin, Merry then took Pippin's place and began to block the blows. But one blow ended up cutting Pippin's hand slightly. "Sorry," Boromir said to Pippin. "Get him!" Merry shouted kicking Boromir's shin, and the two hobbits tackled him to the ground.

After a few minutes of laughing, Aragorn got up and walked over to them. "Gentlemen, that's enough," Aragorn said, trying to pull the hobbits off Boromir. But Merry and Pippin grabbed his legs, and William grabbed his hood, and all three pulled. Aragorn lay on his back looking up at William, who was bent over he was laughing so hard.

"What's that?" Frodo asked. "Just a wisp of cloud," Gimli said. "It's moving fast," Legolas said. "And against the wind," Boromir added. "Crebain, from Dunland!" Legolas shouted. Everyone grabbed their packs and hid in the bushes or under stones. William grabbed Frodo and half-threw him under the same rock as Aragorn before jumping on top of the rock and relaxing.

The flock of black birds circled over head. "Hi Saruman, you don't by any chance know where your lovely riders are do you?" William asked the birds who crowed almost angrily before flying away. Elvirith was biting her sleeve so she wouldn't start laughing. "Right, it's all clear!" William shouted. The Fellowship slowly climbed out of their hiding places.

"Are you mad?!" Legolas exclaimed. "Possibly, but I just saved your lives," William said smiling and walked over to his horse, he took his bow off him and his sword. _"Go to home, and you'll know when I need you, stay safe, old friend," _William said to his horse. The horse galloped away. "The path South is being watched," Gandalf said, "we must take the Pass of Caradhras."

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I had horrible writer's block for this chapter!**


	6. Ghost'

William jogged up to Frodo with Alaera and Elvirith.

"Frodo," William said to the hobbit, "It will get much colder up here, and to keep warm you should probably stay as close to me as you can," William whispered to the hobbit.

"Did you ever hear about what William did in the Shire?" Elvirith asked Frodo walking up to be beside him. Frodo shook his head, and the two women smiled at each other. "Well, Gandalf decided that he'd bring William along to the Shire, this was when they were about leave to find the dragon," Elvirith said grinning. "You know, I really don't see why Frodo should have to hear this story," William muttered.

"As soon as William set foot in the Shire, he was labelled a disturber of the peace, within five minutes he had almost set Bilbo's house on fire," Alaera said smiling. Frodo laughed, and looked at William, who was now glaring at the two women.

William something out of his pocket and stopped. "You guys keep walking, I'll catch up," William said, looking at the necklace in his hands. Frodo only caught a glimpse off it, but it looked like a ring on a chain, but they did as they were told and continued walking and talking and laughing.

Boromir bent down and picked up something out of the snow. It was the Ring. "It's a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing...such a little thing," Boromir said holding the necklace up while he looked at the ring. "Boromir," William said, snapping Boromir out of his trance, "give the Ring to Frodo." Boromir nodded and walked over. "Of course, I care not," Boromir said and gave the Ring to Frodo. As Boromir grew closer, Frodo felt William's hand tighten on his shoulder. Boromir then ruffled Frodo's hair, and as he was looking down at Frodo, he noticed that William's hand was on the hilt of his sword, he looked up at William in shock. Boromir then walked away, and William took his hand off his sword.

Frodo held the Ring out for a little while longer. William's eyes went blue, this time Frodo knew he didn't imagine it. "Put the Ring on Frodo," William said stiffly and walked passed him, while Alaera and Elvirith made their way towards Frodo.

"Don't mind them Frodo, Boromir means well, he wants to keep his people safe, while William is great friends with Boromir and is angry with himself for instantly going for his sword," Elvirith said reassuringly. "You must understand what it's like for Boromir, he wants the best for his people and suddenly something turns up that his father has told him will solve all his problems.

They continued to walk up the mountain, and as it got colder, William made his way back to Frodo, although no-one understood how he could manage it without being afraid of falling off the edge. "Alaera, you look cold," William said worriedly and took a cloak from the on top of his pack and gave it to her. He then took off his own cloak and gave it to Elvirith, "you two go behind us and keep close to each other and the mountain," he said, then pulled Frodo in close against his right side. Frodo was surprised to feel an amazing amount of warmth coming from William, he thought William would be freezing, he wasn't wearing anything except for some light armor and yet he was keeping Frodo warm.

"There is a foul voice in the air!" Legolas shouted from ahead. "It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted so he could be heard over the wind. Suddenly a few rocks fell of the edge of the mountain. "He's trying to bring down the mountain, Gandalf we must turn back!" Boromir shouted, keeping Merry and Pippin warm against his sides. "No!" Gandalf shouted. "This will be the deaths of the hobbits!" Boromir said angrily, and pulled Merry and Pippin in closer again. Gandalf shook his head and began chanting back at Saruman. "It won't work," William said quietly, and Frodo thought he had mis-heard him.

Suddenly an avalanche fell on them, but Frodo was pulled against the side of the mountain by William. William then grabbed Alaera's hand and pulled her against the side of the mountain, she was holding onto Elvirith, so they were both saved as well. Boromir's head popped up out of the snow along with Merry and Pippin. "Is it cold in there?" William asked teasingly and helped the Gondorian out and then they both pulled the hobbits out. Aragorn got out with Sam, and Legolas pulled Gandalf out.

"We must make for the pass of Rohan!" Boromir said. "Gandalf, we could go to the mines of Moria," Gimli said, Gandalf's face became grim. "Let the Ring-bearer decide, Frodo," Gandalf said. "We go through the mines," Frodo said. "Yes!" William said happily. Gandalf looked at him with a strange expression. "I mean...oh no how terrible, we have to go through the mines," William said in a fake disappointed voice. Elvirith giggled, and received and elbow in the side from Alaera, because Gandalf then looked at them.

They all began to make their way back down the mountain.

William skipped towards a rock and sat down on it. "Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gimli said. "Yes, Gimli, their own masters cannot find them, if the secret is forgotten," Gandalf said amused. "Why am I not surprised?" Legolas asked grinning.

Gandalf put his hand against the wall, he began muttering something. Suddenly the clouds seemed to open, and the moonlight shone on the doors, they were glowing blue. "It reads, " Gandalf said, "the doors of Durin, Lord of Moria, speak friend and enter." "What do you suppose that means?" Pippin asked. "Oh it's quite simple, if you are a friend you speak the password and the doors will open," Gandalf answered. "Why are you sitting down?" Sam asked William quietly. "Gandalf's forgotten the password, and I know it, but you lot need some rest," William said.

Gandalf said something and the doors didn't open. Sam laughed quietly but still received a glare from Gandalf. "Come on sit down, get a fire going, it will be a while before those doors are opened," William said. Gandalf grumbled something about, 'horrible dire-wolf, never forgets anything' before sitting down. Frodo sat down beside him.

After about half an hour, Merry and Pippin began throwing stones into the lake. Aragorn grabbed Merry's wrist as he went to through another one in. "Don't disturb the lake," Aragorn said. William looked into the lake and stood up. "Seven hells! It's a riddle Gandalf! The elvish word for friend," William said, "_Mellon." _The doors opened and everyone went inside. "And they call it a mine," Gimli said in his conversation with Legolas. "This is no mine, Boromir said, and looked across at William, "it's a tomb." "Get out," Aragorn said, but William rested against the wall.

"What's going on?" Elvirith asked William as they looked inside the tomb. "Strider!" Frodo shouted and was pulled away by a tentacle. Aragorn ran out and cut off the tentacle, but ten more came from the water throwing people aside and grabbed Frodo. Elvirith took her sword and shield out and ran into the lake with Boromir and Aragorn, while Alaera and Legolas took out their bows. William took out one knife from his belt. "Hey Boromir!" William shouted, and the Gondorian looked over, "Catch!" William threw the knife at the tentacle holding Frodo, and Boromir caught him and ran out of the lake with Elvirith and Aragorn following, while William calmly made his way into the lake.

The tentacle animal roared. William growled at it, but the others were already inside. The creature lifted itself out of the water, and William turned and sprinted back towards the mines, Boromir grabbed one of his arms and Elvirith grabbed the other, and they both pulled him in, just as a lot of rocks fell blocking their exit. "We must venture into the dark depths which is Moria," Gandalf said, "be on your guard, there are more than just orcs here."

His staff lit the way, but everyone noticed William's eyes were glowing blue. "Hey, do you remember the last time we were here?" Alaera asked him. "Yes," William said smiling, his eyes staying blue. "And do you remember, when you introduced us to the Balrog, and Elrond went so white you thought he was going to fall over," Alaera said smiling. William laughed, and his voice echoed through the hall they were walking through.

As they reached the end of the hall, Gimli ran into a room at the end. "Gimli!" Gandalf shouted, running after him. Gimli stood there crying, as he looked at the tomb. "Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," Gandalf read. William put a hand on Gimli's shoulder, the dwarf looked back at William and nodded, in gratitude. Gandalf walked over to a skeleton and took a book from his hands.

"They've taken the bridge...the drums sound in the deep," Gandalf ready, "they are coming." Pippin twisted the arrow of a skeleton, and the body fell into the well, making loud sounds. Gandalf spun around grabbing his hat and staff from Pippin, everyone waited silently with grim faces, everyone except for William who had a massive smile on his face.

After a few seconds of silence everyone except for William relaxed. "Fool of a took!" Gandalf exclaimed, "Throw yourself in next time." Gandalf turned away, only for a drum to sound, and he turned back to the well, as did everyone else, while William's smile grew. The drums sounded again and some screeches were heard from the hall. "Boromir!" William shouted and they both ran to doors pushing them closed, Aragorn joined William and Legolas joined Boromir.

Both William and Boromir looked out the gap, and pulled their heads back in and smiled at each other. "They have a cave troll!" they said. Legolas grabbed an arrow. "Goblins," he said snarling. As soon as the doors were closed, they all grabbed some planks and barricaded the doors.

Gimli was standing up on his cousin's tomb with axe out, Aragorn and Legolas had their bows drawn, Gandalf, Alaera and Elvirith stood in front of the hobbits while William twirled his twin blades around and Boromir had his sword and shield out. "Show off," Alaera said fondly to William. William smiled back at her.

"Come on, there's one dwarf here who still draws breath!" Gimli shouted as the goblins began to break through. Legolas shot one of the goblins and then the doors were open. William cut one of the goblins in half, Aragorn put his bow away and took out his sword, Gandalf took out his sword as well, and the hobbits stood nervously behind Alaera and Elvirith with their weapons drawn.

"Will, I bet I'll kill more orcs than you," Alaera whispered to him, he stood slightly in front of Elvirith and Alaera. "You're on," William said smiling, and as the first orc broke through, William cut him in two. "Cheater," Alaera muttered, but stayed in front of the hobbits.

They were all in different parts of the room when the cave troll came in. As the troll made it's way over to Frodo. Frodo hid behind a pillar. Merry and Pippin gestured for him to jump across to them. The cave troll stuck his head around, and Frodo moved to the other side of the pillar, as the cave troll moved around to the other side, Frodo did the same. The troll moved away and Frodo moved around again and breathed a sigh of relief. The troll came around the side and roared at Frodo. It grabbed Frodo's leg and pulled him off the ledge. "ARAGORN!" Frodo shouted, the ranger looked up as he rested against a pillar for a few seconds. Aragorn stabbed the trolls arm, and it let go of Frodo, dropping him to the ground. As the cave troll moved towards Frodo, Aragorn jumped off the ledge with a spear in hand and stabbed the troll, Merry and Pippin threw pebbles at its head.

The troll hit Aragorn, and he fell against a wall. Frodo ran over to him and tried to wake him up, Frodo looked back and ducked as the troll stabbed through the air with a spear. Frodo went to run away but was blocked by a large rusty sword, he looked at the cave troll as it growled at him. Frodo was pushed into a corner and as the troll pulled the sword back, William jumped in front of Frodo being stabbed as well. The sword pierced William's side and he instantly fell limp. Gandalf turned around in time to see Frodo's mouth open as he made some gargling sounds, Merry and Pippin looked at each other before jumping off the ledge and stabbing the troll. Sam turned around to see Frodo, and started hitting the cave troll with a sauce-pan. Gandalf swung his staff and sword around madly, killing the orcs surrounding him. Boromir swung and stabbed, while Elvirith hit the troll with her shield.

Alaera took out her twin daggers and went on a swinging rampage, killing everything within ten inches of her. Frodo fell to the ground on top of William's legs. Merry and Pippin continued to stab the troll's head, until Merry was grabbed by the troll and swung around. Gimli and Gandalf attacked the troll, and it let go of Merry, as he landed on his back, the troll swiped at Gimli, who dodged it. Legolas began shooting at it's head, never missing. The troll eventually fell and Gandalf ran over to where Frodo lay, and rested against a pillar, Aragorn crawled over to Frodo. "Oh no," Aragorn whispered,and pulled Frodo onto his front, and Frodo let out a groan, Sam's eyes widened and he ran over. "He's alive," Frodo said and Gandalf breathed a sigh of relief. "You should be dead," Aragorn said amazed, "that spear would have squired a wild boar." "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eyes," Gandalf said smiling.

Frodo opened his shirt to show a lovely silver shirt on under. "Mithril," Gimli said amazed, and Frodo looked up at him surprised. "You are full of surprise Master Baggins," Gimli said. "Will!" Alaera and Elvirith said and pushed Aragorn and Frodo out of the way, and rolled William onto his front, his eyes were wide open and blue. _"Is he alright?" _a voice that wasn't William's asked. "What did he say?" Boromir asked Alaera. "He asked if he's alright," Alaera said confused.

Boromir nodded in understanding. "I take it then, that I am speaking to you who is known as Ghost," Boromir said, "yes, William's okay, nothing that won't heal in a few days." The head turned towards Boromir slightly. "I thank you Boromir, for what you have done and what you do for William," the voice said in the common tongue. William's eyes then closed, and re-opened to reveal his brown eyes.

"We better get moving," Elvirith said and they all stood up and left the room, looking at William strangely. "He's never done that before Boromir, I can feel his concern for me now," William said. "You'll have to find a way to explain to them what happened back there," Boromir said. "I'll tell them the truth when we reach Rohan," William answered as they followed Gandalf.


	7. Lothlórien

As the Fellowship were surrounded by the goblins, Frodo could have sworn he had heard William growl at the goblins. A loud sound was heard from the end of the corridor. The goblins all screeched and ran away, back up the walls. Gimli grinned in triumph, but a loud rumbling was heard. Gandalf looked in the direction of the rumbling with dread, Legolas had his bow drawn and was aiming at the end of the corridor, he had a look of fear on his face, Boromir turned around with dread as well, while William had a smile on his face. The rest of the Fellowship looked in the same direction with fear.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked quietly. The light at the end of the corridor grew brighter, and Gandalf closed his eyes before opening them again. "A balrog, a demon of the ancient world this foe, is beyond any of you," Gandalf said, glancing at William slightly before turning around to the opposite end of the corridor, "RUN!" The Fellowship ran from the balrog, but William kept glancing behind him, almost as if he was wishing that the balrog would catch up with them.

As they through the passage and turned right running down the steps, Boromir stopped at the edge of the steps, William and Legolas grabbed him as he lost his balance slightly. Gandalf rested against the wall and looked at Aragorn. "Lead them on, Aragorn, the bridge is near," Gandalf said, they both looked at the bridge of Khazad Dum. Aragorn went to go back but Gandalf threw him back. "Do as I say!" Gandalf shouted, "Swords are no more use here."

They ran down the steps, and stopped when they reached a gap. Legolas jumped across first, and gestured for Gandalf to jump after him. Gandalf jumped, and Legolas caught him, steadying him slightly. Arrows started flying towards them, and Elvirith and Alaera took out their bows and started shooting the goblins. Elvirith put her bow on her shoulder and jumped across, Legolas grabbed her arm as she became unbalanced. Alaera jumped after her, and landed on the edge slightly, but Elvirith grabbed her. "Merry, Pippin!" Boromir exclaimed, grabbed the two hobbits and jumped across.

"Sam," Aragorn said, and threw the hobbit across the gap, where Boromir caught him. Aragorn turned to Gimli, but Gimli put his hand up stopping him. "No one tosses a dwarf!" Gimli said and jumped across the gap, but landed on the edge and was about to fall off, but Legolas grabbed his beard, "Not the beard!" The stairs broke a good bit more, and Aragorn looked uncertainly at the gap. "You go Aragorn, I'll jump with Frodo," William said. Aragorn nodded, before jumping across the gap, and Legolas grabbed him. As the bridge crumpled a bit more, William pushed Frodo up a bit before following him further up the bridge. Alaera, Elvirith and Boromir looked at William worried.

The stairs grumbled a bit more again, and William pulled Frodo close to his side. "Steady," William said to Frodo, as the bridge started to shake, "Hold on." The balrog roared, making the top of the stairs break, and the stairs that William and Frodo stood on rocked back to the top. "Lean forward," William said, and himself and Frodo leaned forward slightly, just as the stairs started going towards the others. "Come on!" Legolas said worried for his two friends. William pushed Frodo forward as the bridge collided with the rest of it, and Boromir grabbed William in a hug, while Legolas grabbed Frodo, making sure they didn't fall off. They all started running towards the bridge of Khazad Dum.

"Over the bridge!" Gandalf shouted, and they all began to run, everyone except for Gandalf and William, who turned to face a large wall of flames, and out of it came a large black beast. The beat roared at Gandalf, and he began running, pulling William behind him.

As they all crossed the bridge, Gandalf going across last, he turned around to face the balrog. "You cannot pass!" Gandalf shouted at the balrog, as he stood halfway across the bridge. "Gandalf!" Frodo exclaimed. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor!" Gandalf shouted, bringing his sword and staff up together, "The Dark Fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn!" The balrog hit Gandalf's protective circle with it's whip, but the wizard just seemed more determined. Boromir grabbed William's arm, making sure he didn't do anything stupid, while Alaera and Elvirith stood in front of the hobbits. The beast roared once more. "Go back to the shadow!" Gandalf shouted at the balrog, and it's whip flicked across the bridge. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Gandalf shouted, and brought his sword and staff down on the bridge, and it began to crumble, the part under the balrog broke completely, and the balrog fell down the hole.

Gandalf turned back around to the Fellowship, weary. The balrog's fiery whip came back up and wrapped around Gandalf's ankle, pulling him down, but the wizard grabbed on to the edge. "Gandalf!" Frodo shouted. Gandalf looked up at them all, and looked at William, smiling slightly, and William gave him a small smile in return, then Gandalf looked back at the others. "Fly, you fools!" Gandalf said, and he was pulled down after the balrog. "NO!" Frodo shouted, and Boromir picked him up in his arms, lifting him out of the mines, Legolas and the others ran out, Aragorn looked back at Gandalf and Boromir turned around to him. "Aragorn!" Boromir shouted, and Aragorn ran out of the mines, pushing William in front of him.

* * *

As the Fellowship made it out of the mines, they all sat down, grieving for the loss of Gandalf. The only two not grieving for Gandalf were Aragorn, who had his brave face on, and William, who was sitting on a rock comforting Boromir, Alaera and Elvirith. "Legolas, get them up!" Aragorn ordered. Boromir got up off the rock, he hadn't been crying but grieving for Gandalf in his own way, and as soon as Aragorn had said that, he stepped forward. "Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir exclaimed. "By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs," Aragorn replied. William looked at him. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien," William said to him. "Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up!" Aragorn exclaimed.

"On your feet, Sam," Aragorn said gently and went off looking for Frodo. Merry and Pippin made their way over to William, who was standing on the edge of the hill. "How do you deal with his lose?" Merry asked him gently. "With years of practice," William answered, looking down at the young hobbits.

As they began their journey again, Merry and Pippin stayed close to William, and therefore Alaera, Elvirith and Boromir. "Where are you from, Lady Elvirith?" Merry asked. "I hail from Rivendell," Elvirith said smiling at them, "and I am no lady, simply call me Elvirith." "And you, Lady Alaera?" Merry asked. "I hail from Rohan, the home of the horse lords," Alaera said fondly, "and I am as close to a lady, as Boromir is to being an elf."

* * *

"Stay close, young hobbits, they say that a great sorceress lives in these woods, an Elf-witch of great powers," Gimli said, and William and Alaera covered their laughter, as Elvirith imitated him. "All who look upon her fall under her spell and are never seen again," Gimli finished. "Probably because they never want to be seen again after living here for long enough," William muttered under his breath, and Boromir, Merry, Pippin and Alaera bit their hands from laughing, while Elvirith nodded her head in agreement.

"Well here's one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily, I have the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a fox," Gimli said, only to find a few arrows pointing at his face. "The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark," Haldir said, and Alaera and Elvirith grinned. "Haldir of Lórien, we come here for help, we need your protection," Aragorn said to him. "Aragorn, these woods are perilous, we should go back," Gimli said to him. "You have entered the Realm of the Lady of the Wood, you cannot go back," Haldir said, not seeing Alaera, Elvirith or William, for which they were grateful.

"_Welcome, Legolas son of Thranduil_," Haldir said to Legolas warmly in elvish. "_Our fellowship stands in your debt,_" Legolas answered. _"Aragorn of the Dunedain,you are known to us," _Haldir said to Aragorn warmly. "So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves, speak words we can understand!" Gimli said. Haldir regarded Gimli, somewhat amused. "We have not had dealings with the dwarves, since the Dark Days," Haldir said smoothly. "And you know what this dwarf has to say to that?" Gimli asked then changed to the language of the dwarves, "_**I spit upon your**_** grave!"**Gimli seemed rather happy, thinking no one could understand him until Aragorn looked at him. "That was not so courteous," Aragorn said and William smiled slightly.

"You bring great evil with you," Haldir said looking at Frodo, "you can go no further." Aragorn took Haldir aside and tried to convince him to let them through. Boromir turned to Frodo, and William smiled at him, giving him some encouragement. "Gandalf's death was not in vain, nor would he have you give up hope, you carry a heavy burden Frodo, don't carry the weight of the dead," Boromir said and walked back over to William. Alaera grinned at Frodo who looked gratefully at Boromir. "That, my dear hobbit, was a Boromir that only a few people are privileged to see," Alaera said. Haldir and Aragorn walked back to the group. "You follow me," Haldir said, and they followed Haldir.

Haldir stopped at the top of a hill, and the Fellowship stopped as well. "Caras Galadhon, the heart of Elvendom on earth, Realm of Lord Celeborn, and of Galadriel Lady of Light," Haldir said and they looked over the realm. The trees had stairs and lights on them. Haldir then guided them to a spiral staircase, and they climbed all the way around a tall tree, when they reached the top they found themselves at a grand sort of house. A bright light appeared from the staircase in front of them, and two elves appeared at the top of the staircase. Lord Celeborn had long silver hair and was tall and fair, he was dressed in white and wore a grey cloak on top of it. Lady Galadriel had long golden hair and was tall and fair, and she wore a white elven dress and a silver crown. They both glided down the steps.

"The enemy knows you have entered here, what hope you had in secrecy is now gone, eleven there are, yet twelve set out from Rivendell," Lord Celeborn said, "Tell me where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him, I can no longer see him from afar." Galadriel looked at them all, sifting through some of their memories. "Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land, he has fallen into shadow," Lady Galadriel said gently. The Fellowship all dropped their eyes. "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife, stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all," Galadriel continued then looked at Sam, William, Alaera and Elvirith, "yet hope remains while the company is true."

"Do not let your hearts be trouble, go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil, tonight you will sleep," Galadriel said and looked at Frodo before staring at William, "you have not told your companions of your injury, for you didn't want to worry them, but you should be healed." "I'm perfectly fine," William answered, and Galadriel raised an eyebrow at him. Haldir looked at William and recognized him, he ran to William and they hugged each other tightly, Haldir then went to hug Alaera and Elvirith. Galadriel looked at William, he hadn't shouted out in pain when Haldir had hugged him just so he so he wouldn't worry his companions, it was noble of him, but would get him killed. Lord Celeborn grinned at William and they walked towards one another before hugging each other. William suddenly let out a shout of pain, and Celeborn shot him an apologetic look, but lifted up his tunic, to show his companions the stab wound in his side.

"Go to their healers," Legolas said to William. "No, I'll heal quick enough by myself, I just have to make sure nothing is rubbing against it for a while," William answered and pulled his tunic off, leaving him in his trousers. "Come, I'll show you where you shall be sleeping," Haldir said, and the Fellowship followed him, shooting concerned glances at William.


	8. Chapter 8

William grinned down as the two guards walked underneath the branch he was sitting on. As soon as the two guards passed, William swung down and grabbed Haldir and Elvirith before swinging back up and placing Haldir and Elvirith on the branch. William then swung back down and grabbed Alaera and Boromir before swinging back up again.

The four looked at William and grinned. "So, what are you planning on doing?" Boromir asked him quietly. "Scaring the hell out of the Lothlorien guards," William answered quietly grinning. The two guards ran back past the tree, while the five friends tried not to burst out laughing.

Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Sam soon walked underneath the branch and stopped. William and Boromir swung down and grabbed two hobbits each. Two guards walked back in the same direction that the other guards had gone, these guards also had looks of panic on their faces. Lord Celeborn was walking behind them, but William swung down and grabbed him as well, before swinging back up again.

Celeborn looked at William and rolled his eyes, but was grinning. "My lord?" one of the guards asked. William watched as they both sprinted back in the direction of where Legolas and Aragorn were. Legolas and Aragorn soon passed underneath the branch behind two guards, and William and Boromir swung back down again and grabbed these two as well.

The two guards turned around and started panicking. _"William," _a soft voice said inside William's head. _"But Galadriel, you should see the looks on their faces," _William answered. William, Alaera and Elvirith rather reluctantly, helped Frodo and Merry down, while Boromir helped Sam and Pippin down. Elvirith, Lord Celeborn, Legolas, Haldir and Aragorn swung down gracefully from the branch. Alaera and William put an arm around each other and jumped down.

The two guards sighed with relief when they saw that they were all safe. Haldir suddenly pulled William into a tight hug, and grinned at him. "I never got to say hello properly," Haldir said. "Yeah well, it's not as if I haven't seen you in twenty years," William said grinning at him. "Thirty," Haldir corrected. "You don't look old enough," Frodo said. "Appearances can be deceiving," Alaera said grinning.

"We better be going," Elvirith said, "after all, we're on a quest." "Right," Haldir said, and Celeborn grimaced. "I'm not telling Lady Galadriel that you lot are leaving so soon," Lord Celeborn said. "I'll tell her," William said. "Are you sure?" Haldir asked him. "He's completely and utterly certain, aren't you Will?" Celeborn said smiling. "I guess," William said sighing.

* * *

"My lady," William said bowing to Lady Galadriel. "I know that you're leaving so soon," Galadriel said, and Celeborn, Haldir, Alaera, Elvirith and William let out a sigh of relief. "I suppose, we should be going as soon as possible," Aragorn said.

"Aye," William said, an accent that none of the hobbits nor Legolas could recognize, but the others smiled when they heard it come out. "Do try and not get injured even more, please William," Lady Galadriel said pulling William into a hug. "Can't make any promises," William said grinning. "Girls, please try and keep him out of trouble," Lady Galadriel said smiling. "As William said," Elvirith said and the two girls looked at each other and smiled saying together, "we can't make any promises."

"You two, are completely and utterly useless," Lady Galadriel said groaning. "Don't worry, my lady," Haldir said, "William can take care of himself, he's a big boy now." "Coming from someone who was afraid of the first human that he met," William said grinning. Alaera and Elvirith burst out laughing, and Alaera found herself resting on Elvirith's shoulder she was laughing so hard, and Elvirith was resting on Legolas' shoulder.

"We'll go down to the boats," Boromir said grinning. "Of course," Lord Celeborn said smiling at the Fellowship. They all began walking down towards the river. "Did you hear the lament for Gandalf last night?" Pippin asked William. "Of course I did," William said grinning, "Alaera and Elvirith were singing it." "They were!" Merry exclaimed over-hearing the conversation.

"Yes we were," Alaera said grinning at the two hobbits. "It was beautiful," Legolas said looking at Elvirith. "Lover boy," William said walking by Legolas. "Shut up!" Legolas said elbowing his ribs, and William fell to the ground in pain. "I'm sorry Will," Legolas said using his nickname, "I didn't mean to elbow you that hard." "It wasn't you, idiot," Alaera said, earning a glare from Elvirith, "he's a lot tougher than having an elf elbow him and then falling to the ground in pain." "It's his injuries," Lady Galadriel said looking down at William, who was clutching his side.

"But wasn't it just a cut?" Pippin asked confused. "I might have, down played the pain ever so slightly, and shown you a smaller cut than the actual cut that's hurting me, you were all so focused on that small cut, that you didn't notice the other two," William said sheepishly, as Lady Galadriel and Aragorn glared at him for not telling them about his injuries, while the rest of the Fellowship watched him in concern, and Haldir and Lord Celeborn watched him in amusement.

"Show us," Aragorn said tightly. William groaned in pain as he lifted up his shirt, and Alaera and Elvirith saw the 'small' cut everyone had thought was William's injury. "William," Aragorn said growling slightly. William let out a hiss, and took off the shirt completely, he turned around to Lord Celeborn. "This, is the wound," William said, pointing to his right side, and lifted his arm up showing a large, deep cut. "How, did you get that?" Elvirith asked in concern.

"I...may have gotten into an argument with a few orcs, in Mordor, who may or may not have taken me back to Saruman who may or may not have given me this cut," William said, making sure not to look at Lord Celeborn's face, but then made the mistake of looking up. "And what, exactly were you doing in Mordor, dearest William?" Lord Celeborn asked.

"I was just, you know, visiting daddy dearest," William said smiling innocently, and tried to put his shirt back on put Haldir stopped him and tried to send an elf away for a healer, put William grabbed his arm before he could send anyone away. "I'll be grand, and you know that Haldir," William said grinning weakly.

Elvirith sprinted over to her pack, and took a bandage out of it. She walked back over to William, and knelt down so she could start bandaging William's side. "What are you doing?" William exclaimed as Elvirith began wrapping up his wound and he jumped away in pain. "What does it look like I'm doing, I'm covering your wound," Elvirith said, "now stay still."

"Anyway, if you're in pain, just take it out on Aragorn, Legolas or Haldir," Alaera said. "No volunteering me for pain when William's in pain," Haldir said, "that's happened enough times already." "What he said," Aragorn and Legolas said. "To the boats," Elvirith said finishing wrapping William's wound.

* * *

Lord Celeborn, Haldir and several other elves all stepped forward with green cloaks. They wrapped them around the shoulders of everyone in the fellowship, but Celeborn paused as he put the cloak around Elvirith. "Promise me, you'll keep yourself, Kathryn and William safe," Celeborn whispered to her, "it doesn't really matter if the quest fails, all though it would be a lot easier and safer if it succeeded, but as long as you three are safe, there's always a chance of destroying the ring." The cloaks were held together by a Lorien leaf brooch.

Haldir paused when he got to Alaera. "You, better try and stay out of trouble at least," Haldir said. "Do you honestly think, that with myself, Elvirith, William, Boromir, Merry and Pippin together, we will be able to stay out of trouble?" Alaera asked him grinning. "Good point," Haldir said grinning. Finally the members of the Fellowship all had the cloaks on.

Lord Celeborn stopped and stared at the different members of the Fellowship, then smiled seeming pleased with the cloaks. "Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people. May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes," Lord Celeborn said. The Fellowship then began to pack the boats with their different things.

Legolas took out a small pack out of his bag, and Elvirith looked over his shoulder, whatever it was it was wrapped in a few leaves. "Lambos bread!" Elvirith exclaimed happily. "Elvish bread," Alaera whispered to Merry and Pippin who were staring at Elvirith as if she was crazy(which she is). "One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man," Legolas said taking a small bite of it beforLe going over to help the others.

"How many did you eat, Pip?" Elvirith asked. "Four," Pippin said grinning sheepishly. Elvirith was suddenly pulled away by Lady Galadriel who gave her a bow. "Give this to Legolas, you'll know what to say," Lady Galadriel said to her. "But I don't know what to say!" Elvirith hissed at her. Lady Galadriel simply grinned and pushed her towards Legolas, who's eyes lit up.

"My gift to you, Legolas, is a bow of the Galadriem, a bow worthy of our woodland kin," Elvirith said, as she looked over Legolas' shoulder at Lord Celeborn who was standing behind him, mouthing the words that Elvirith had just said. Legolas smiled and carefully took the bow out of Elvirith's hand. Elvirith tried not to smile as she watched Legolas' face, he was looking at the bow in complete awe. Lord Celeborn stepped up behind Legolas, and bent down to whisper something in his ear, but Elvirith could still hear him, and Alaera, William and Haldir were trying not to laugh.

"You hurt her," Lord Celeborn whispered, "and I swear to the gods, that I will kill you if you do hurt her." William stepped up behind Legolas on his other side, all traces of laughter gone. "He won't be alone," William whispered to him. Elvirith covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh at the look of complete and utter terror on Legolas' face.

Lady Galadriel turned to Merry and Pippin and gave them some words of advice, and they both got a kiss on the forehead from her. Sam was given elven rope that would never break while Elvirith and Alaera tried not to laugh at the look of confusion on the poor hobbits face as to when that would come in handy.

Galadriel gave Alaera a pair of twin daggers. They had a handle in the middle of the blade, and another blade coming out the back of the dagger, one of them was green the other was grey. "I trust you know how to use these," Lady Galadriel said grinning as Alaera took the daggers out of her hands with care, before twirling them around with skill.

"Thank you, my lady," Alaera said bowing her head to Lady Galadriel. Alaera was now wearing a blue tunic with red on the bottom of the sleeves, and matching blue trousers. ( alaera_leaving_lothlorien/set?id=63650135#stream_box) "And just a nice piece of jewellery to wear to your next ball," Lord Celeborn said, giving her a ring. It was silver and had the small head of a dragon. "Thank you, my lord," Alaera said grinning, "it's beautiful. I'll be sure to wear it to the ball in Rohan that will probably be held when we get there."

"And what could the elves offer the dwarves?" Lady Galadriel asked Gimli. "Nothing, except to look upon the Lady of the Galadriem one last time for she is fairer than any of the jewels beneath the Earth," Gimli answered. Lady Galadriel smiled at him, while Elvirith and Alaera held back their laughter, and William and Boromir pretended to vomit.

Galadriel then moved down to talk with Aragorn, and the others knew that she was speaking with him privately. She placed a hand over Aragorn's heart. Lord Celeborn gifted Aragorn with a dagger as well, before moving onto Elvirith. Elvirith grinned at them, and was pulled into a hug by Lady Galadriel. "This is for you, dearest Elvirith," Lady Galadriel said, gifting Elvirith with a necklace which had the head of a wolf and was in the shape of a tooth. "Thank you, my lady," Elvirith said, "I will make sure to wear it at the ball in Rohan." Elvirith winked at Alaera.

"This, is also for you," Lord Celeborn said giving Elvirith a white shield. It had gold around the edges and a red lion in the middle of the shield. At the top of the shield it had blue and yellow designs. "It's beautiful, my lord," Elvirith said taking it away from him carefully. "Well, William made it, along with your necklace," Lord Celeborn said to Elvirith, and William jumped behind Boromir hiding, then Celeborn turned to Alaera, "he made your bow and your ring." Both girls turned around and saw William's blonde hair behind Boromir, and they both tackled him in a hug.

William groaned and looked at both girls. Elvirith was wearing a very dark green tunic with chain-mail on underneath this, and black trousers, with a brown belt going around her waist and a sword strapped into the belt, along with dark brown boots. ( elvirith_in_lothlorien/set?id=63652657#stream_box)

"Right, will you two please get off me," William said groaning, and then winced in pain as Alaera brushed against his wound. "I'm so sorry Will!" Alaera said and quickly got off him, with the help of Elvirith. "No, it's grand, my fault," William said getting up slowly with the help of Alaera and Elvirith. "Now, for you," Celeborn said pretending to groan. "You know, you love me," William said grinning at Celeborn who grinned back at him.

"Here you go," Lord Celeborn said giving William two daggers, they had golden handles and golden writing on the blade. "What, no, this is for you dearest William," William said to Celeborn. "No, you're not important enough to get that kind of thing," Celeborn replied teasingly. "William, this is for you, I thought it would be fitting," Lady Galadriel said giving William a necklace. It had three blue beads on either side and three black beads on either side, and a pendant that had a black wolf paw on it.

William grinned at Lady Galadriel. "That is very fitting for our lovely William here," Haldir said pulling William into a hug. "You seriously better take care of yourself," Haldir said grinning at William as they stepped out of the hug. As soon as Haldir let go of William, Lord Celeborn pulled him into a hug as well. "I'll miss you," Lord Celeborn whispered to him, "try not to piss off your father too much." "I will," William said grinning at him. He was wearing a red tunic with a brown leather jerkin on over the shirt, and a pair of black trousers. ( william_in_lothlorien/set?id=63654707&lid=2049601)

They all got into the boats, Alaera got into the boat with Aragorn, Sam and Frodo. Elvirith got into the boat with Legolas and Gimli. William got into the boat with Boromir, Merry and Pippin.

* * *

Elvirith sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation when she heard two loud splashes. Everyone else turned around to Boromir's boat where William was missing from the boat. Merry and Boromir were laughing while Pippin was looking over the boat in shock. Alaera was missing from the boat with Aragorn, Sam and Frodo in it.

Elvirith's boat suddenly shook slightly, and Elvirith's bored face suddenly became filled with horror. "Aragorn!" Elvirith exclaimed when she felt a wet hand grab her wrist, and she suddenly she fell into the water.


	9. A Reminder of the Past

Elvirith opened her eyes under the water to see Alaera and William grinning at her. William pointed up at the boat above them, Elvirith nodded, understanding what they were about to do. The three pushed up off the bottom of the river as hard as they could, and shot up to the bottom of the boat before pushing it with as much force as they could.

Boromir, Merry and Pippin were now glaring at them. As William surfaced with Elvirith and Alaera, Aragorn watched them carefully. "Now Aragorn, we all know that you're afraid of water," William said to him, "but sometime or other you have to face your fears." Alaera and Elvirith fought to keep straight faces, as did Boromir, Merry and Aragorn while the others watched in confusion. "William, what are you talking about?" Aragorn asked. "That's why you always smell so horrible Aragorn, you're afraid to wash," William said, with a completely straight face.

The other hobbits and Gimli now also fought to keep straight faces. Aragorn glared at William, picked up the paddle and hit William over the head with it, as the others finally burst into laughter. Áine stealthily swam so she was behind Aragorn, before grabbing him in a choke-hold and managing to not let him fall into the water. "Apologize to him now," Áine whispered. "I'm sorry for hitting you over the head with wood," Aragorn said, and Áine let go.

"He needs all the brain cells he has left," Kathryn said, earning a glare from William as the others laughed. "William, what exactly was your plan after you dragged people into the river?" Legolas asked, "Their clothes are now wet and they may become sick." "Ah, you see," William answered sheepishly, "I didn't really get that far in my plan, but I have multiple cloaks that will keep everyone warm."

Aragorn smiled at Alaera and helped her into the boat. William quickly pulled himself into the empty boat so it wouldn't turn upside-down. He then turned to help Merry and Pippin and lastly Boromir. Legolas carefully lifted Elvirith into his boat, and Alaera gave her a wink. Being the mature one in the situation, Elvirith stuck her tongue out at Alaera.

"Everyone gather 'round, I have cloaks and I'm not afraid to use them," William called out. Alaera and Elvirith laughed but gladly took the cloaks, as did Boromir, Merry and Pippin. "Have you ever properly thought anything through?" Boromir asked. William pause, with an intense look of concentration on his face, before it lit up in his usual carefree grin. "Nope," William answered grinning, "actually there was this one time...but it didn't end well at all." William had a faraway look in his eyes, but it left as quickly as it came.

"Can we please get back to rowing?" Aragorn asked sighing. "As you wish, Your Highness," William said grinning, while Elvirith rolled her eyes. William picked up a paddle and Boromir picked up the other and they started to row. "I'm not royalty!" Aragorn told William, trying to keep his anger in check. "Not yet," William replied.

* * *

As they rowed through the river, they reached a part where two statues of kings sat on either cliff, they had their hand in front of them. "The Argonath...long have I long have I desired to look upon the kings of my old kin," Aragorn said. "Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream," William sang. "This isn't a stream Will," Elvirith said grinning. "Row, row, row your boat gently down the river," William sang, "Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream."

Aragorn glanced at Will, slightly concerned for his sanity. William saw his look and grinned. "You don't have to worry about my sanity, Aragorn," William said, and Aragorn relaxed slightly, " I lost it a long time ago." Aragorn sighed shaking his head, wondering how it was he came to be friends with William. "But we love him for it!" Elvirith said grinning, and everyone except for William and Alaera missed Legolas' eye twitch.

Will looked at Alaera and they both grinned at each other. "Now that we've all stopped singing songs-" Aragorn began but was interrupted by the look of mock horror on William's face. "But I haven't finished singing all the songs yet!" Will protested, and Alaera and Elvirith grinned. Aragorn sighed in defeat and shrugged basically saying, 'I tried my best'. "What song shall we sing next?" Elvirith asked William.

Will had a memory of a song that he had hears sung in a tavern once. William nodded to himself happy with his choice of song, "I don't know if guys know this song, but join in if you do." Alaera and Elvirith nodded to him, and he sighed.

"And who are you, the proud lord said,  
that I must bow so low?  
Only a cat of a different coat,  
that's all the truth I know.  
In a coat of gold or a coat of red,  
a lion still has claws,  
And mine are long and sharp, my lord,  
as long and sharp as yours.

And so he spoke, and so he spoke,  
that Lord of Castamere,  
But now the rains weep o'er his hall,  
with no one there to hear.  
Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall,  
and not a soul to hear."

"Will, what was that about?" Boromir asked. "It was about a young man, who's father ruined the family name and they're honour, the family was killed by people who had the same symbol that they had as their shield," Will answered, "later on the young man comes back and kills the people who had his family killed." "Lovely and cheery," Elvirith said sarcastically. "Yup," Will said darkly, before smiling at them.

* * *

They soon pulled up to the bank, and William disappeared off to get firewood. Leaving Elvirith alone with Alaera as they tried to remain still...but it didn't last long.

_***Sorry for the ridiculously short chapter, I PROMISE it will be longer, and hopefully I'll have 'If I Die Young', 'Always A Hero Comes Home' and 'The Wolves' updated soon and they'll have more than one chapter**_


End file.
